Transplant day

The big day has finally come. They took the stems cells out of the cryogenic freezer this morning and then thawed and "washed" them. They were then suspended in liquid and brought to Eric in cooler. They had to be slowly delivered so a nurse stood over him for an hour and slowly squeezed the syringe a tiny bit each minute.

The stem cells were stored in liquid to protect them called a cryoprotectant. They attempt to remove this in the washing process but can't get rid of 100% of it. The little that gets into the body makes your breath and perspiration smell like creamed corn. It is very noticable when you get close to Eric. It should go away within a few days.

So, now we in for a few more weeks of waiting to find out if the transplant was successful. During that time Eric will continue to be very vunerable. His white blood cell count is near zero. This is what we will be watching to see if the new cells successfully engrafted and are doing their job.

-dk (via cell phone)